Henry Hepburn

Falkirk

Scotland Editor at Tes

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Articles

Are these the 20 essentials to 'unlocking' high-quality teaching?

2 weeks ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

Doorstep-sized reports on education are a speciality of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). While crammed with potentially useful data and insight, the sheer volume of information can be daunting - and labour intensive for those daring to venture in.
Bedford School launches all-girls’ international school in India

2 weeks ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

Bedford School has become the latest independent school to venture into the international schools market, announcing that it will open a school in Mohali, northern India, in April 2026. Bedford School Mohali will be located on the outskirts of Chandigarh, and - notably, given that the school in the UK is all boys - will be an all-girls’ school, open to those aged 4 to 18.
International schools explore metacognition in the early years

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

Metacognition - often summed up as “thinking about how we think” - has become an increasingly prominent concept in schools around the world over recent years. Often the focus with metacognition has been on older students, but a new research project from an international schools group is applying it to the earliest years of formal education. Nord Anglia Education is running Flag Time for children aged 3 to 6, with the aim of helping them to ”understand how they think and learn best”.
What is Northern Ireland's 10-point plan to 'transform' education?

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

This week, Northern Ireland’s education minister, Paul Givan, launched a “strategy for education excellence”. TransformED promises to “transform” teaching and learning in Northern Ireland, and puts forward a 10-point plan. Here are the 10 priorities it sets out:1. CurriculumThe Northern Ireland curriculum will be redesigned to “ensure every child enjoys an ambitious and knowledge-rich curriculum that develops their learning in a well-sequenced and explicit manner”. 2.
Violence against school support staff at ‘unacceptable’ level, says minister

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

School support staff are facing “unacceptable” levels of violence, a Scottish education minister has admitted. The comments from Graeme Day came after MSPs heard “shocking” evidence of pupil behaviour that support staff are dealing with. Today in the Scottish Parliament, Labour education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy asked what plans the Scottish government had to review the experience of support staff in schools.
8 ideas to inform your school's mobile phone policy

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

There should not be an outright nationwide ban on smartphones in Welsh schools, according to a report from the Senedd’s Petitions Committee today. Instead, the Welsh government is being told to produce clear guidance and a robust framework to allow teachers to set their own rules in schools. The report was produced following a petition signed by nearly 3,000 people that called for a ban in schools, except in exceptional circumstances.
Number of Scottish schools sharing a headteacher triples

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

The number of schools in Scotland sharing a headteacher has risen sharply, according to figures highlighted by the Scottish Conservatives. The figures supplied by education secretary Jenny Gilruth - in response to a written question from her Tory opposite number - reveal that while 134 schools shared a head with at least one other school in 2007, that number had grown to 469 by 2023.
EIS launches book to help young new arrivals to Scotland

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

Scotland’s biggest teaching union has launched a book to welcome young children who are new to Scotland. Mochara Goes to Nursery is an extension of the EIS union’s existing welcome packs for new arrivals to Scotland and features a new story specifically written for pre-school children. The book follows the eponymous character, who is nervous as she arrives in Scotland and gets ready for her first day in nursery.
'Imperative' for schools to talk up apprenticeships, report finds

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

Schools should do more to highlight the value of apprenticeships and show that they are just as worthwhile as university and college, a report for the Scottish government has advised. The report underlines that minority-ethnic school students stand to gain the most from addressing misconceptions about apprenticeships, as they do not see the “labour market advantages” that should reflect their level of education.
Scottish behaviour plan is having little impact, say teachers

1 month ago | tes.com | Henry Hepburn

A national plan designed to tackle violence and abuse in Scotland’s schools is having little impact, according to most teachers in a survey. They also report that the number of students being physically abusive and violent in schools has increased in the past 12 months. In the survey on behaviour in schools by the NASUWT teaching union, 83 per cent of the 476 teachers who took part said the number of students exhibiting physically violent and abusive behaviours had increased in that period.